Taiwan warned against declaring independence. (ABC News)

Quoth the Downer: “Any military build-up on the part of China in relation to Taiwan is about providing a disincentive for Taiwan to declare independence, not a prelude to some military expedition over and above concerns about the possibility that Taiwan may proclaim independence and it’s incumbent on countries like Australia to transmit to the Taiwanese leadership the message that any proclamation of independence would be provocative.“

That is one of the longest sentences I’ve seen for a while, even for diplo-speak.